Wow. What a year it’s been for the app store. This was the first full calendar year that the store has been open for business, and we’ve been treated to a countless amount of games. Now, all of us have attempted to give a summary of some of our favourite games from the year. We’re about to list a lot of great games, so sit back and see if you’ve missed any gems from last year or disagree with any of our choices.

Matt: Overall, 2009 was a great year for iPhone gaming. My personal favorite release of the year was the re-imagined classic Space Invaders Infinity Gene, easily the iPhone’s best shoot’em-up. The stages, visual presentation, sound and gameplay combined to make this a game I found impossible to put down. The inclusion of music stages, generated from songs in your music library, make this a game with an infinite amount of new challenges, and the recent update made things even better. Space Invaders Infinity Gene is the best example I can think of of a major game publisher simultaneously revitalizing a classic franchise while doing right on the iPhone platform. Kudos to Taito for a job well done.

For me, the year held a number of other highlights. Meteor Blitz is the best dual-stick shooter I’ve ever played, with sumptuous visuals and perfect controls. Flatspace delivered the most open-ended space role-playing experience on the platform; how you outfit your ship plays a huge role in how you play the game, and you’re welcome to play in any way you like, as law-enforcement or pirate, trader or bounty-hunter, good guy or bad guy. Chronicles of Inotia: Wanderer of Luone and Dungeon Hunter offered up the platform’s best fantasy RPGs, while Rogue Planet delivered an SRPG to rival those on major consoles. Robocalypse, ported to the iPhone from the Nintendo DS, was the year’s best RTS, and IUGO’s Star Hogs was an artillery game not to be missed. GeoDefense and GeoDefense Swarm were the year’s best tower defense games. Chillingo‘s Defender Chronicles effectively tipped the tower defense genre on its side, imbuing it with RPG qualities along the way and cementing it as one of the deepest and most rewarding alternative takes on tower defense yet seen. In addition, the developer has set a new paradigm for the support of existing properties with constant and hearty updates in content. Knights Onrush is the App Store’s best castle-defense game, even beating out Gameloft‘s take on the genre. But it’s Gameloft’s NOVA that takes the crown for the year’s best FPS, highly polished with a robust single player campaign and an excellent multiplayer mode. My favorite retro fixes were the addictive Hook Champ and the lite roguelike The Isle of 8-bit Treasures. For casual games, KarmaStar was a favorite for cramming incredible depth into bite-sized portions, and Canabalt for incredible atmosphere and short, but addictive gameplay sessions. My list is long, but the last games I absolutely must mention are Rolando 2 and I Dig It 2, incredible sequels to their equally incredible predecessors. Damn, what a year!

Daniel: My game of the year would have to go to NOVA from Gameloft. Call me a first-person shooter junkie, but Gameloft did an amazing job with both the campaign and online multiplayer. There have been tons of other games that have come quite close to taking home the award though, from ngmoco’s Rolando 2 to Illusion Labs’ Sway. Com2uS also came out of the box after releasing Homerun Battle 3D along with Inotia 2: Wanderer of Luone, both of which were definite must have titles for me. Chillingo‘s Ravensword was yet another title that I was overly impressed with, along with their fun Speed Forge Extreme.

Nick: Going back a full year and trying to figure out the best games launched on the app store is definitely a tough task. Choosing a single game of the year though is easy. The game I have in mind had an impressive graphical upgrade from its predecessor, and the gameplay’s tweaked difficulty and rolling variations kept me fully interested throughout. Yes, the game I’m thinking of is Ngmoco and Hand Circus’ Rolando 2. After replaying levels just to grab all the items I missed on the first time through, I realized the game was something special because replaying is something I rarely do. I initially opened this site to try and cover games that push forward the idea that the iPhone is a legimitate gaming platform, and Rolando 2 fits the bill perfectly. In trying to list other favourites from the year, I’m sure I’m going to forget many great games. Here’s a quick attempt at other standout titles I really enjoyed: Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor, Sway, Let’s Golf, Peggle, geoDefense, 2XL ATV Offroad, and Hook Champ.

Chris: 2009 was certainly a banner year for the iPhone and its gamers. In 2008 we witnessed the birth of the app store. In 2009 we witnessed it grow into something akin to a child: both awkward and wonderful; sometimes gawky, sometimes menacing, but always full of promise. This year we’ve seen everything from the great Halo clone N.O.V.A. to truly unique puzzlers like Labyrinth 2 and Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor. But for every geoDefense we also had an onslaught of forgettable tower defense games that simply were a recycled waste of time. The still incomplete Minigore gave us a good laugh while Samurai: Way of the Warrior showed us that 3-D wasn’t always needed. At the beginning of the year, who would’ve thought a simple running game like Backbreaker Football could bring so much more life to football than the iconic Madden? That’s what makes the iPhone as a gaming device so special: it surprises us. This little machine somehow manages to bring a decoupage of gaming experiences that no other device seems to match. Gamers everywhere have to agree there’s nothing quite like Zen Bound for the console. As for the best of 2009, that’s tough. The Wing Commander-esque Galaxy on Fire comes close, but ultimately I’m a sucker for the well-rendered RPG; Ravensword: The Fallen King is certainly not without its flaws, but it is the first iPhone game I found truly amazing… utterly escapist. What can we anticipate in 2010 now that the iPhone’s proverbial childhood is over? The fast track into adulthood. With Apple’s newfound success in the gaming world comes a new set responsibilities… and new competition. Also, we all have bigger expectations for this little device than we did a year ago. Things could get really interesting. So, here’s to a new and even better year of gaming in 2010. Good luck, Apple, and keep on gaming!

Jeff: What if iTunes didn’t exist? What if there wasn’t an App Store? What if the technological marvel known as the iDevice was never conceived? Each and every one of us would have missed out on something amazing and revolutionary. It’s a worldwide store where you can buy all of the newest music of any nationality from anywhere in the world, and purchase multiple games that fit in your pocket starting as low as 99 cents and (almost) not going anywhere above 10 dollars. This universal store has brought many people happiness, and the offerings that you can choose from are astounding. Music will always be changing, and so will the future of gaming. However, I’ve never thought that gaming could change so suddenly or quickly. Five months ago, I would never have thought of the iPhone or iPod Touch as something I would play games on, much less play games on for hours on end. This year, and more specifically, these past few months, have changed the iPhone and iPod Touch into my main gaming platform. And why? Because iDevice games are the only ones that get updated, changed, and churned out so quickly, yet still maintaining the polish and quality we expect from all games.

Now that the iPhone and iPod Touch have been established as possible gaming devices, what are the best games for this “platform?” Or, what is the number one game that all iDevice owners should have? It’s a hard choice, but I have to go with N.O.V.A.. This game has the best graphics, best controls, and debatably due to multiplayer, the best replay value of any game on the App Store. It has all of Gameloft’s quality and polish, and it isn’t a game you just finish and forget; it’s an experience that you remember and keep coming back to, time and time again. On the other hand, there are many great offerings for the iDevice, including Jet Car Stunts, Asphalt 5, Need for Speed, FIFA, Inotia 2: A Wanderer of Luone and many more titles that deserve mentioning. Of course, if I mentioned all of them, the list would be too long since there are just so many different options. All in all, 2009 has been an awesome year both for myself personally and the App Store, and I can’t wait to see what new events and things are in store for me this year. Onwards, and let’s all have a great 2010!

Ryan: The app store has come a very long way in such a short time. I remember when I was impressed by the simplest of games on a mobile device like an iPod. The app store has become a whole new market now with ‘real’ games becoming more polished and fun. One signing example of this is Nova. Nova is a first-person shooter developed by Gameloft that somewhat resembles Halo (ring any bells?) Nova is the most complete, comprehensive game on the app store to date. Not only does it have an engaging single player mode, but it comes with surprisingly fun online multiplayer mode as well. It is no surprise to me that Gameloft is the company behind Nova. After all, they have proven to be strong players in the app store market and have developed a number of hits. Each game they release seems to push the envelope (and my expectations) just a little further. I now expect an iPod/iPhone game to deliver much more than I did even a few months ago. I am excited to see what the app store holds for 2010. I think Nova will be hard to top, but based on what I have seen so far, it is complely plausible.

And that wraps up the gaming year of 2009. I’m sure 2010 will be bringing us even more impressive games from all the developers on the app store who will continue to push the limits of the platform. We’ll see you the same time next year for another wrap up!

Maybe Apple has finally awoken from its holiday hibernation, maybe not. But either way, yesterday seemed to be one of those “update release days” as I’ve received almost 32 updates within a matter of minutes. While I haven’t exactly updated every single game, here’s a few that I thought were pretty notable.

Jet Car Stunts: Huge, huge, HUGE issue I had with this game was the difficulty. Blah, blah, blah, best game on the iPhone? Whatever. But with the addition of a tutorial and a casual mode, I can only hope the game will be significantly easier. Of course, if it isn’t, I expect the less-skilled to riot and cause some havoc to the developers, forcing yet another update. Either way, I’m glad the game has finally been made a little bit easier.

Speed Forge Extreme: Major problem I had with this game was engine noises. Seems like there were engine noises all along; they just weren’t loud enough above the music. Fortunately, the developers of Speed Forge Extreme have tweaked their vehicles to make the engines sound louder, along with the ability to listen to iPod music as an added bonus. The version 1.1 update also has added a first-person perspective, one that I wasn’t really expecting, but still awesome nonetheless.

Hook Champ: Being our October Game of the Month, Hook Champ has always been one of our favorites. The new update adds more content yet again, with Hookbot as a new character along with a Mega Hook, 24 new hats, 5th rocketjump fuel tank, and some new Christmasy looks for Jake, Gunny, and Hookbot. All in all, it’s a good update for those looking for some new clothes to fashion up your characters.

Fieldrunners: One of the first TD games in the App Store, Fieldrunners has always been a classic. It has been updated to feature the new OpenFeint Gold Edition. And now before you start foaming at the mouth, it’s basically OpenFeint with a new interface. There’s nothing special about it, no special features, just a new look. While it’s a little disappointing, it’s still wonderful to see some added achievements. Along with OpenFeint Gold, there are two new maps available for DLC, each map costing $0.99 each.

iBlast Moki: It’s one of the best puzzle games on the App Store, and it only seems to be getting better. The new version 1.2 update updates the graphics, adds 15 new levels, a new Doodleworld, an all new level editor design, and some other minor fixes. It’s a noteworthy update, that again, costs you nothing but a few minutes of your time. If you haven’t picked up this game yet, I suggest you to right now before it’s too late and the world comes to an end.

SpringFling: It’s like Doodle Jump, yet prettier, quirkier, and just a little bit different to justify the buy. The new update adds 9 new clothing pieces for your spring along with a new powerup, giving you the ability to fly up through the level. If you’re a fan of Doodle Jump, I suggest you pick this one up as well, being the only, truly worthy alternative

Lite versions are definitely beneficial as seen from the success of iShoot and Assassin’s Creed; both of which boosted considerably in sales in correspondence with the lite version gaining popularity. And with that said, Gameloft has been releasing lite free versions of all their games while other developers have been following the demo model.

Here’s a small roundup of the recently released lite versions, and almost all are worth a download. If you’re too lazy (like me) to download the lite versions, I think it’s safe to say that you’ll enjoy all of these games.

Most should be worth your time and download. If you don’t like it, there’s nothing really other than to delete it; and if you do, support the developer and buy the game. Most of the games listed above are less than or equal to $4.99, a quite reasonable price.

iBlast Moki has got to be one of the best games on the App Store, and the game is now free thanks to the Appvent Calendar. In my opinion, this is probably the best free game from the calendar so far, and with Plus+, online levels, level editors, and more; iBlast Moki is a must have experience on the iPhone.

Even at the $1.99 price, this game is worth way more than that. At the price of free, I suggest you run down to the App Store right now and download it. Notably one of the best games on the iPhone platform, physics fans will get a kick out of this one.

Please remember that it’s free for only one day. After today, it will go back up in price.

iBlast Moki is arguably the most complete iPhone game to date that includes so much content it’s unbelievable. It’s unbelievable that they would lower the price of the already low $1.99, but they have. iBlast Moki is on sale for $0.99 this weekend, a steal that you should not pass up. The $1.99 price tag was low enough, but it never gets any better than this.

iBlast Moki is a physics puzzler that includes the Plus+ network and other cool features like downloadable online levels. This game received a ‘Must Have‘ rating from us because really, there’s no game that competes with it in quality and quantity. So head on over to the App Store right now to buy the game before the price goes back up!

In other news, iBlast Moki will be receiving an update soon, and the update it currently in the works. The update will completely redesign the menus, add new languages, and bug fixes and performance improvements. Personally, I think iBlast Moki is a safe purchase that will be updated when necessary.